In the fields of medical equipment, industrial robots, and so on, sophisticated motions are required in many cases. Accordingly, development of an actuator device having a smaller size, lighter weight, and higher flexibility is an urgent issue in the relevant art. From that point of view, many actuator devices have been developed including, for example, the type that two sheets each made of an electrostrictive material are bonded to each other and the bonded sheets are used as a flexible member.
Recently, an actuator device including stacked films made of an electrostrictive material has also been developed with an intent to further reduce the device weight. In such an actuator device, an outer electrode for connecting the actuator device to an external device, etc. is formed by T-connecting electrodes, which are exposed from a divided surface. A stack of plural films, made of an electrostrictive material, are secured to one another using a conductive paste, for example.
When manufacturing the above-mentioned actuator device, a method of manufacturing a ceramic substrate can be employed in a similar manner. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 06-085465 discloses a method of manufacturing a module substrate by forming division grooves in a multilayer body in which ceramic sheets (green sheets) including conductor patterns formed thereon, and by cutting the multilayer body into substrates each having a desired size. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 06-085465, lateral surface electrodes (outer electrodes) are formed by making the wiring patterns provided inside the cut substrate exposed from a lateral surface of the substrate through vias and outer connection electrodes, coating platings over the exposed wiring patterns, and by printing a conductive paste into through-holes, etc.